Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) announced today that its board has elected CFO Jason Hollar to become the pharma and medtech giant’s new chief executive officer, effective Sept. 1.
Hollar will succeed Mike Kaufmann, who has been Dublin, Ohio–based Cardinal Health’s CEO for the past five years. The CEO transition comes as Cardinal Health continues efforts to refocus its Medical business after the $1 billion sale of its Cordis business last year.
“This is a transformational period at Cardinal Health, and I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead a business that plays such a vital role in the healthcare ecosystem,” Hollar said in a news release.
Cardinal Health independent board chairperson Gregory Kenny described Kaufmann as a “tremendous leader during his tenure at Cardinal Health, helping the company navigate a period of unprecedented challenges, directing strategic investments for growth and innovation, and cultivating an inclusive and vibrant workforce culture.”
“We look forward to leveraging Jason’s broad executive experience and are confident in his ability to lead Cardinal Health on a path to long-term growth,” Kenny said.
Hollar joined Cardinal Health in May 2020. Before Cardinal Health, he was CFO of automotive products and services company Tenneco. He’s also held executive positions at Sears, Delphi Automotive and Navistar International.
Patricia English, Cardinal Health’s chief accounting officer, will serve as interim CFO.
Cardinal Health reports mixed Q4 results
The announcement came on the same day that Cardinal Health announced Q4 earnings that missed the Wall Street consensus forecast amid the inflation and supply chain problems that have dogged many life sciences companies, though the company beat on revenue.
Cardinal Health reported profits of $138 million, or 50¢ per share, on sales of $47.1 billion for the three months ended June 30, for a bottom-line gain of 19% on sales growth of 10.56% compared with Q4 2021.
Adjusted earnings per share were $1.05, 12¢ behind The Street, where analysts were looking for adjusted EPS of $1.17 on sales of $44.7 billion.
The company’s medical device segment reported $16 million in losses for the quarter due to net inflationary impacts and global supply chain constraints in products and distribution. It reported an 11% sales loss for the quarter with $3.8 billion in sales. The revenue decrease comes as the company divested its Cordis business and lowered products and distribution volumes. Cardinal Health also said there was a lower contribution due to fewer demands for personal protective equipment.
Pharmaceutical segment profit increased 26% to $451 million in Q4, driven by generics program performance and a higher contribution from branded pharmaceuticals. Inflationary supply chain costs offset some of the growth. Cardinal Health’s pharma sales were up 13% to $43.3 billion.
For fiscal 2023, Cardinal Health expects non-GAAP EPS to be in the range of $5.05 to $5.40 and is targeting its medical segment profits of at least $650 million by the year 2025.
Shares in CAH were up more than 1% to $63.58 apiece in morning trading.